One of the silly fallouts (if you'll excuse the pun) of the nuclear crisis in Japan and reports that radiation particles may be airborne is that Americans are clearing the shelves of iodine pills just in case.

Of course there is no chance that even if radiation particles reach the West Coast (as they did after Chernobyl...to no effect) they will be harmful. None.

But that is not stopping people as far east as Michigan from clearing the shelves of iodine pills. Iodine pills, by the way, while an emergency measure for people who have actually been exposed to high levels of radiation, are not safe to take willy nilly. They have a lot of bad side effects.

"This sounds a little silly, frankly" said an exasperated Shep Smith earlier today, from his vantage point in Japan, less than 100 miles from the Fukushima site.

"Do we know where the biggest rush for these sales are happening? Talk these people down off a ledge? And why someone is trying to talk these people down off a ledge? It's 5500 miles away!"

Presumably the news media in general, and the word nuclear specifically is ginning up the panic. But yeah.

And later.

"Well that's almost sad and pathetic...I mean I know everybody wants to feel the pain of these people, wants to feel badly for them, but to take these pills that's just tantamount to crazy...people 7000 miles away in Michigan, don't be dumb!"